Tuesday, February 21, 2012

[ABOVE:
Florence B. Price: Concerto in
One Movement, Symphony in E Minor;New Black
Music Repertory Ensemble; Leslie B. Dunner, Conductor; Karen Walwyn,
Piano; Albany Records 1295 (2011) BELOW: "Madison,
02/15/12---44-year-old Trevor Weston, chair of the music department
at Drew University. Weston is a composer of more than 40 classical
works, including orchestral and choral pieces and even an opera.
Recently he was commissioned by the Center for Black Music Research
to record a symphony, and reconstruct a concerto for piano," STAFF
PHOTOGRAPHER/BOB KARP 2012. / Bob Karp/staff photo]

“MADISON
— Mozart and Beethoven inspired generations of classical composers,
but who inspired them? For one, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, the first
black composer to lead major French orchestras. In 1779
Saint-Georges performed with Queen Marie-Antoinette. Yet his works —
and those of generations of black classical composers — do not
appear in anthologies of classical music.

“Trevor Weston,
chairman of the music department at Drew University, has an opinion
about that. 'When it comes to discussing who creates what sort of
music,' Weston said, 'we tend to identify things by what people look
like as opposed to what they’ve actually done.' As a professor,
the 44-year-old Weston works hard to make the black contribution to
all music visible, even as he writes his own works and contributes to
the legacy. 'Black Americans have been writing in a classical style
for a long time,' Weston said. 'But rarely do we hear of it because
of social issues.'

“In the 20th
century alone, the list includes William Grant Still, William Dawson,
R. Nathaniel Dett, and Florence Beatrice Price, the first female
African-American classical composer to have her work performed by a
major American orchestra. Both of Weston’s mentors also are major
composers in their own right — T.J. Anderson at Tufts University
and Olly Wilson at the University of California at Berkeley, where
Weston earned his doctorate.

“In a project
called 'Recorded Music of the African Diaspora,' the Center for Black
Music Research decided to revive the music of black composers. As
part of its efforts, it commissioned Weston to reconstruct Price’s
long-lost Concerto in One Movement for Piano.” [William Levi
Dawson, R. Nathaniel Dett, Florence B. Price, Le Chevalier de
Saint-Georges and William Grant Still are profiled at
AfriClassical.com, which features Works Lists for William Levi
Dawson, R. Nathaniel Dett, Florence B. Price and William Grant Still
by Prof.
Dominique-René de Lerma, http://www.CasaMusicaledeLerma.com]